Getting banned from Outlier: tragedy or serendipity?
You always think it won't happen to you, but then it does.
Some weeks? Months ago? I got a weird badge that now I realize meant whatever version of the Oracle program is implemented for Latam Coders. Got great reviews on tasks, even being requested specifically to work on certain projects (as far as I know). Also made it to reviewer and senior reviewer on some projects.
Today (well, yesterday) is Tuesday, usually Tuesdays are a slow day for me since the pay week closes on Monday and I tend to take that day slower than usual; but I went on the platform anyways, to check on projects and see if I could get some work done.
Surprise! Banned
First hint came from the community not opening. "Weird..." I thought. Then the dashboard wasn't showing. "Massive failure? Site update?" My mind went in circles trying to pinpoint what was happening. Some days earlier we had gotten a generic email about warnings regarding deactivations.
"If you put genuine human effort and take your job seriously nothing will happen" I thought.
Then, the bot told me "your account was suspended". And support told me "we don't know what happened, we will check". And the referrals page (I also visited it, as all pages, looking for answers?) said something about not being able to refer due to guidelines or something.
So, I am suspended it seems! (99% sure now, just need the final confirmation from human support)
Now, I will not fight it or attempt to overturn it or whatever. It's their platform, they know who they want and who they don't want there. I will perhaps ask if there's anything I need to do, but, if it's final it's final.
But thoughts run, and, sorry for the kind of long text but... Outlier gave me something really good these months; the possibility to dream of making my way in a new facet of my career. As a software engineer, dealing with AI-whatever seems just like the next logical step, evaluating models, helping align them or define their ethics up to an extent. And, I'm not sure a traditional software job would give me that.
I did not really want to go back there.
But these days, I have been getting offers from companies. For traditional work. It might be that some shareholders? stakeholders? got tired of the AI buzz and the need for human workers is coming back. It might be that the universe detected I would get expelled from Outlier and gave me alternatives? I don't know.
Is it a tragedy? Yes, in a sense it seems to kill off my main venue to take part in the AI aspect my career was taking. It seems to kill off one of my main ways to be truly the owner of my time, so to speak. Is it serendipity? May...be? Maybe it was meant just as an emergency raft while I went back to the "normal" work engagements? Maybe it was just the school ship that made me learn the things I will need to sail the AI seas in whatever work is next?
I am not sure. I can just say I am grateful.
Even if someone mistook my structured texts for AI, or even if some algorithm thought I was one of them instead of dreams wrapped up in carbon.